Niue
Niue (pronounced NEW-ay in English, Niuean: Niuē) is an island nation in the South Pacific Ocean. It is commonly known as the "Rock of Polynesia", and natives of the island call it "the Rock" for short. Niue is 2,400 kilometres (1,500 mi) northeast of New Zealand in a triangle between Tonga to the southwest, the Samoas to the northwest, and the Cook Islands to the southeast. The land area is 260 square kilometres (100 sq mi) with about 1,400 people who are predominantly Polynesian. In 2003, Niue became the world's first "WiFi nation", in which free wireless Internet access is provided throughout the country by The Internet Users Society of Niue. History Main Article: History of Niue Niue was settled by Polynesians from Samoa around CE 900. Further settlers (or invaders) arrived from Tonga in the 16th century. Until the beginning of the 18th century, there appears to have been no national government or national leader. Before then, chiefs and heads of families exercised authority over segments of the population. Around 1700 the concept and practice of kingship appear to have been introduced through contact with Samoa or Tonga. From then a succession of patu-iki (kings) ruled the island, the first of whom was Puni-mata. Tui-toga, who reigned from 1875 to 1887, was the first Christian king. The first European to sight Niue was Captain James Cook in 1774. Cook made three attempts to land on the island but was refused permission to do so by the Polynesian inhabitants. He named the island "Savage Island" because, legend has it, the natives that "greeted" him were painted in what appeared to Cook and his crew to be blood. However, the substance on their teeth was that of the hulahula, a native red banana. For the next couple of centuries the island was known as Savage Island, until its original name Niu ē, which translates as "behold the coconut", regained use. The next notable European visitors were from the London Missionary Society who arrived in 1846 on the "Messenger of Peace". After many years of trying to land a European missionary on Niue, a Niuean named Nukai Peniamina was forcibly abducted and trained as a Pastor at the Malua Theological College in Samoa. Peniamina returned as a missionary with the help of Toimata Fakafitifonua. He was finally allowed to land in Uluvehi Mutalau after a number of attempts in other villages had failed. The Chiefs of Mutalau village allowed Peniamina to land and assigned over 60 warriors to protect him day and night at the fort in Fupiu. Christianity was first taught to the Mutalau people before it was spread to all the villages on Niue; originally other major villages opposed the introduction of Christianity and had sought to kill Peniamina. The people from the village of Hakupu, although the last village to receive Christianity, came and asked for a "word of god"; hence their village was renamed "Ha Kupu Atua" meaning "any word of god", or "Hakupu" for short. In 1887, King Fata-a-iki, who reigned from 1887 to 1896, offered to cede sovereignty to the British Empire, fearing the consequences of annexation by a less benevolent colonial power. The offer was not accepted until 1900. Niue was a British protectorate for a time, but the UK's direct involvement ended in 1901 when New Zealand annexed the island. Independence in the form of self-government was granted by the New Zealand parliament with the 1974 constitution, following a referendum in Niue in 1974 whereby Niueans were given 3 options independence, self-government or continue as a New Zealand territory. The majority selected self-government and Niue's written constitution was promulgated as supreme law. Robert Rex, ethnically part European, part native, was appointed the country's first premier, a position he held until his death 18 years later. Rex became the first Niuean to receive a knighthood, in 1984. The island of Niue gained its full independence from the United Kingdom on September 4th, 1994, as a result of a national pride movement by Toki Talaga, and it has had a peaceful time scince until 2004. In January 2004, Niue was hit by Cyclone Heta, which killed two people and caused extensive damage to the entire island. Politics Main Article: Politics of Niue In Niue, it is a constitutional republic which means, that the President (Talaga) holds supreme power over his land, and his actions are stated in the constitution if they are legible or not. President Talaga has a secretary who is supposed to take note of his every action, and she also will gain power if something happens to the current president. Then, Chief of Niue Police, is supposed to take power if both Talaga, and his secretary are eliminated. The people vote for the president and he selects his secretary through the person with the highest test scores, but the Chief of Police is with any other soldier, but in some cases can be chosen by the president. Geography Niue is a 269 km² island in the southern Pacific Ocean, east of Tonga. There are three geographically outlying coral reefs within the Exclusive Economic Zone that do not have any land area: *Beveridge Reef submerged atoll drying during low tide, 9.5 km North-South, 7.5 km East-West, total area 56 km², no land area, lagoon 11 metres deep *Antiope Reef is a circular plateau approximately 400 metres in diameter, with a least depth of 9.5 metres *Haran Reef (Harans Reef), reported to break furiously, 294 km southeast Besides these, Albert Meyer Reef, ( almost 5 km long and wide, least depth 3 metres, 326 km southwest) is not officially claimed by Niue, and the existence of Haymet Rocks, is in doubt. Niue is one of the world's largest coral islands. The terrain consists of steep limestone cliffs along the coast with a central plateau rising to about 60 metres above sea level. A coral reef surrounds the island, with the only major break in the reef being in the central western coast, close to the capital, Alofi. A notable feature is the number of limestone caves found close to the coast. The island is roughly oval in shape (with a diameter of about 18 kilometres), with two large bays indenting the western coast, Alofi Bay in the centre and Avatele Bay in the south. Between these is the promontory of Halagigie Point. A small peninsula, TePā Point (Blowhole Point), is close to the settlement of Avatele in the southwest. Most of the population resides close to the west coast, around the capital, and in the northwest. Some of the soils are geochemically very unusual. They are extremely highly weathered tropical soils, with high levels of iron and aluminium oxides (oxisol) and mercury, and they contain surprisingly high levels of natural radioactivity. There is almost no uranium, but the radionucleides Th-230 and Pa-231 head the decay chains. This is the same distribution of elements as found naturally on very deep seabeds, but the geochemical evidence suggests that the origin is extreme weathering of coral and brief sea submergence 120,000 years ago. Endothermal upwelling, by which mild natural volcanic heat draws deep seawater up through the porous coral, may also contribute. No adverse health effects from the radioactivity or other trace elements have been demonstrated and calculations show that level of radioactivity would probably be much too low to be detected in the population. These unusual soils are very rich in phosphate, but it is not accessible to plants, being in the very insoluble form of iron phosphate, or crandallite. It is thought that rather similar radioactive soils may exist on Lifou and Mare near New Caledonia, and Rennell in the Solomon Islands, but no other locations are known. The time difference between Niue and mainland New Zealand is 23 hours during the Southern Hemisphere winter and 24 hours when the mainland uses Daylight Saving Time. Police Force Officially, there is no military force within Niue. However, there is a national police known as the Niue National Police Force or simply NNPF. They take on the responsibilities of the regular army, and are the largest organized group on Niue They are divided into three branches; Niue Civil Guard, Niue Seaborn Guard and Niue Heavy Guard. The civil guard deals with everyday situations, like disturbance of peace, the seaborn guard deals with water affairs, and the heavy guard is the basic SWAT team of Niue, they are sometimes even called the 'army'. The force has 84 current employees and all work tirelessly to ensure the safety of Niue. Economy Niue is mainly a banana republic, mostly creating only nuni, bananas and fish, the economy of Niue does not involve mining or such acivities because of the lack of mineral resources. Th people of Niue mainly focus on creating what goods they can and selling them at the right price. The main things made in Niue are, Bananas, Nuni, Fish, Wool, Wool Cloth, Sugar, Rum, Soy beans, and Papaya. The money they use is really scrap metal melted down into a round shap with the seal printed on it. Tourisim has also been fueling the GDP, as more people seek relaxation and freedom from stress, however there is a designated part of the island for tourists only. Niue's economy suffered from the devastating tropical Cyclone Heta on 4 January 2004. The Niue Integrated Strategic Plan (NISP) is the national development plan, setting national priorities for development. Cyclone Heta took away about two years from the implementation of the NISP, while national efforts concentrate on the recovery efforts. In 2008 Niue was fully recovered from the devastation of Cyclone Heta. Media Niue does not have much media, due to its small size and population. It has two broadcast media outlets, Television Niue and Radio Sunshine, managed and operated by the Broadcasting Corporation of Niue, and one printed newspaper, the Niue Star. The internet also provides opportunity for other news services like http://talanet.okakoa.com. Technology The first computers were Apple machines brought in by the University of the South Pacific Extension Centre around the early 1980s. The Treasury Department first computerised their general ledger in 1986 using NEC personal computers which are IBM PC XT compatible. The Census of Households and Population in 1986 was the first to be processed using a personal computer with the assistance of David Marshall, FAO Adviser on Agricultural Statistics, advising UNFPA Demographer Dr Lawrence Lewis and Niue Government Statistician Bill Vakaafi Motufoou to switch from using manual tabulation cards. In 1987 Statistics Niue got its new personal computer NEC PC AT use for processing the 1986 census data; Niue's personnel were sent on training in Japan and New Zealand to use the new computer. Niue's first Computer Policy was developed and adopted in 1988. In 2003, Niue became the first territory to offer free wireless internet to all its inhabitants. In August 2008 it has been reported that 100 percent of primary and high school students have what is known as the OLPC XO-1, a specialised laptop by the One Laptop per Child project designed for children in the developing world. Niue is also a location of tests for the OpenBTS project, which aims to deliver low-cost GSM base stations built with open source software. Culture Liku, the eastern-most village of Niue, is the home of prominent international artist Mark Cross and his wife, the master weaver, Ahitautama. Two kilometers south of Liku is the Hikulagi Sculpture Park, an ongoing environmental art project, supported by Reef Shipping, The Pacific Development and Conservation Trust and several other organisations. Niue is the birthplace of New Zealand artist and writer John Pule. Author of The Shark That Ate the Sun, he also paints, tapa cloth inspired designs on canvas. In 2005, he co-wrote Hiapo: Past and Present in Niuean Barkcloth, a study of a traditional Niuean artform, with Australian writer and anthropologist Nicholas Thomas. Taoga Niue is a newly established Government Department responsible for the preservation of the culture, tradition and heritage of Niue. Recognising its importance, the Government has added Taoga Niue as the sixth pillar of the Niue Integrated Strategic Plan (NISP). Reiligon 75% of the population of Niue belong to the Ekalesia Nieue (a national Congregationalist body). 15% are Latter-day Saints and 7% are Catholics. 1.5% of the population are Baha'i. Sport Despite Niue being a small country, a number of different sports are popular. *Rugby union is a popular sport played both by men and women; Niue were the 2008 FORU Oceania Cup champions. *Netball is played only by women. There is a nine-hole golf course at Fonuakula. *There is a lawn bowling green under construction. *Association football is popular as evidenced by the Niue Soccer Tournament. Category: